Leadership Tips: Don’t Procrastinate with Your Conversations

No one likes to admit it, yet we do often put off tasks and responsibilities. Many studies report that extreme procrastination affects over 20% of the population. Even if you aren’t in this group, the lure of waiting until tomorrow affects us all at times.

An online survey by The Procrastination Research Group posed the question, “To what extent is procrastination having a negative impact on your happiness?” Of the 2,700 responses, 46% said “quite a bit” or “very much,” and 18% claimed “extreme negative effect.” And yet, there are real reasons we put off doing things that are important.

When it comes to conversations, we often put off the vital ones we need to have for reasons like:

It will take too long.

The other person can’t handle it.

It’s not the right time.

Those are real feelings, and conversely, so are these:

It will take longer to stall the conversation and not stay current, so I need to find time.

I will not make compromises of what people can handle around me. They deserve to hear my thoughts and concerns.

It will never feel like the right time, so I need to make it a priority.

It is a choice. This week’s fierce tip is to not procrastinate with the conversations you need to have this week. Make it a priority to have the conversations. They may not always go as perfectly as you would like, and yet, they are worth the time.

In times where stalling may seem like the better route, remind yourself that the quality of your relationships, at work and at home, will degrade or improve one conversation at a time. And it is your choice to skillfully invite and engage others in the conversations important to you and others around you.